When it was announced that Disney had purchased LucasFilm for $4.05 billion and announced that they would be making Episodes VII, VIII, and IX we all just knew that wasn't going to be the whole story. Nobody on this planet would lay down that much money for the rights to make three movies, no matter how potentially profitable those movies could be. We've heard rumor after rumor that the companies would be working to make "spin-off" films set in the same galaxy about characters apart from Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo, but it's all been speculation. However, it all just became a lot more real.
Bob Iger, the CEO of the Walt Disney Corporation, appeared on CNBC today (via Movies.com) and has confirmed that in addition to the new trilogy of films they are also developing other stories set within the Star Wars universe. The executive said that Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg are currently developing "a few" projects that will be released during the six year period that features the release of Episodes VII, VIII, and IX. You can watch Iger speak in the video below:
Could Robert Rodriguez really get the chance to make some kind of Han Solo movie in the future? Could yesterday's rumors about a Yoda standalone film be true? Perhaps Joe Johnston will actually get the chance to make his Boba Fett solo film? There are so many great characters and awesome stories that could be told within the world of Star Wars, either based on established characters or introducing brand new ones. The future is bright!
UPDATE: Coming Soon has gotten an official statement from LucasFilm about the spin-off films and you can read it below:
The Star Wars cinematic galaxy is about to experience a Big Bang. Lucasfilm is officially announcing new spinoff films that will expand the mythos and depths of the Star Wars universe in previously unexplored ways.One of the standalone films will be written by Lawrence Kasdan, screenwriter of The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and co-writer of Return of the Jedi while the other will be penned by Simon Kinberg, writer of Sherlock Holmes and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The movies will be separate from the upcoming Episodes VII, VIII, and IX, on which Kasdan and Kinberg are also consulting, and are expected to be released sometime after Episode VII. Each standalone film will focus on a specific character, and two spinoff films are currently confirmed.In a call to investors, Bob Iger, chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, revealed while the original focus was on the highly-anticipated sequel trilogy, the idea of spinoff films was bandied about early and the additional films are now becoming a reality. "We are in development of a few standalone films," he said, "that are not part of the Star Wars saga...there are now creative entities working on developing scripts for what would be those standalone films."
